Historical Records on Metal Plates
There are many that speculate over the existence of the “Golden Plates” that contained the records of the Book of Mormon peoples. However, Chief Shup-She of the Pottawattomie nation helps us understand the normalcy of this. In fact, especially amongst the tribes of North America, the histories of their people are maintained via metal plates as well.
Other Metal Plates
Chief Shup-She of the Pottawattomie nation states that most of the tribes in North America did in fact, keep records on metal plates. For example, the Ojibway tribe of Native Americans in Wisconsin have a depository of records. This depository is located near Shawano, Wisconsin. These records are composed of copper and the writing is engraved on forty-eight plates. Including, engravings on both sides of the plates.
Furthermore, the writing is a pictorial writing. However, there are men in the tribe that do know how to read it. The record begins with the arrival in America of the ancestors of the Native Americans. Leading all the way down to the present time. These Native Americans have the practice of writing main events of their history, all while in one place on one plate. Every time they move on to another section of the country, they also move to another metal plate. Chief Shup-She claimed that the Indians in the northeastern part of the US wrote on lead plates.
Variety in Records
As we can see, there are many similarities amongst the Native American Inhabitants, to those people of the Book of Mormon. Namely, the Nephites and the Lamanites. We can draw connections to these Book of Mormon peoples, but also feel supported in the physical evidence we have of the record keeping on metal plates. For some civilizations it was easier to carve into the walls, or stone tablets, for some it was paper and scrolls. But one thing we can find in common, is that these records were meant to last. And each finds their own way to secure their legacy.
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